Once and Future King
by Deandra
Summary: Elfwine is out of bed late one night. Fluffy little ONESHOT. Part 10 of the Elfwine Chronicles.


_**Part 10 of the Elfwine Chronicles. The Elfwine Chronicles are a series of one-shots, of which there will definitely be three, but MIGHT be more if I come up with more ideas.**_

_A/N: Number 10! Not bad for one-shots that started out as only three in number. Things have been chaotic in my life lately so I haven't been writing so much, but hopefully something will see the light of day periodically. I have started another story, a sequel to Eye of the Beholder, so we'll see how that goes. Happy Easter!_

**Once and Future King**

**(Jun, 5 IV)**

Eomer quietly entered the darkened Golden Hall. Most everyone had gone to bed hours ago, but he'd had work he needed to finish first. Sometimes being king was a heavy burden to bear, and nights like this made him feel it more keenly. He was weary to the bone, and still his mind would not put to rest the concerns of his people. No matter how much he accomplished in a day, it seemed never enough for what needed doing. Surely Theoden or the kings of old would have conquered these difficulties much better than he...

His ears pricked at a soft sound near the throne, and he moved slowly toward it. As he drew closer, he recognized the childish voice of his four-year-old son, Elfwine, who should have been in bed by now. When he was close enough to make out the words, a smile came to his face.

"Send riders to Helms Deep!" Elfwine commanded regally.

"Elfwine, what are you doing?" his father asked.

"Hello, Papa. I am playing king!" he informed Eomer.

His tiny legs dangled from the front of the throne and he didn't reach the back of the chair.

Eomer grinned. "Are you looking to take my place as king?"

"No, Papa! I will have my own country and be king there, and then I will come visit you and Mama."

Eomer sat on the steps and leaned back against the leg of the throne, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "There is only one problem with that. One day you will become King of Rohan, and rule here when I am gone. I do not think you can be king of two countries."

"When you are gone? Where are you going, Papa?" the boy asked innocently.

Eomer rose, picked up his son, then settled himself on the throne with Elfwine in his lap. "Someday Papa will die and then you will be king," he answered quietly.

Elfwine's eyes teared up. "But I do not want you to die, Papa!"

He squeezed the boy tightly. "Everyone dies sometime, Elfwine. It is the way of life. But I do not plan on doing it any time soon, so do not fret. You will probably be even older than me when it happens."

Elfwine considered this a moment, then said, "Well, I suppose if I am really old like you then it will not be so bad."

Eomer choked back a laugh. At thirty-four he hardly considered himself 'really old', but he realized that to a child it might seem so.

"Do not be concerned about it. When the time comes, you will be ready. And, now, my little future king, I think it is time for you to go back to bed. Kings need their rest." He kissed Elfwine on the head and stood up.

Elfwine turned and wrapped his arms around Eomer's neck, whispering, "Do not worry, Papa. When you die, I will be a good king – just like you."

Eomer smiled and hugged his son close. "I know you will, Elfwine. I am not worried." _Not anymore_, he thought.

THE END

**__**

End note: It is not essential that you read the Elfwine Chronicles in the order they were written, but there is an advantage to doing so. The more of them that I wrote, the more likely I was to make reference to one of the previous ones and something that happened there. If you want to read them in order, go to the top of this page and click on my name (Deandra). That will take you to my profile page. Scroll down and you will find all the stories I have written. The Elfwine Chronicles are in order from bottom to top since ffn shows them in the order they were posted. A few were posted out of number order (#15 came after #17, I think), but you can read them in posting order or number order since those few won't be affected in the story content.


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